A Dangerous Liason
by Ivory Muse
Summary: "Tell me how you've never felt delicate or innocent." Fifty sentences on Azula and Mai.


_/Doubt thou the stars are fire  
Doubt thou the sun doth move  
Doubt truth to be a liar  
But never doubt  
Doubt thou the stars are fire  
Doubt thou the sun doth move  
Doubt truth to be a liar  
But never doubt I love/ _

#01- Ring: "I stole it from Mother's room before Father threw it out," Azula says in a low whisper, pressing a ruby ring Ursa left behind into Mai's sweaty palm.

#02- Hero: Both of them sit in the back of the classroom, fighting the urge to gag, as their teacher reads Our Hero: Firelord Azulon's Greatest Achievements for the thousandth time.

#03- Memory: Azula's mother seems to fade to the back of the princess's mind, but Mai can still remember her, and the curious look on her face when she and Azula ran off to play alone.

#04- Box: For her tenth birthday, Mai buys Azula a carved cedar jewelry box- and pretends to not be disappointed when it goes up in flames.

#05- Run: "Run, run," Azula hurriedly whispers and Mai obeys, leaving an irate and thoroughly soaked Zuko in her wake.

#06- Hurricane: "Zuzu's been banished," she coldly states, and watching the hurricane of emotions flash through Mai's normally stoic face sends a rush of perverse power through her.

#07- Wings: Though she keeps Mai on a tight, obsessive leash, somehow the older girl seems to be above it all, and Azula longs to pin her wings like a butterfly's.

#08- Cold: That is the right word for Mai- cold in speech, cold to the touch, and cold in regards to anyone else.

#09- Red: "You need to practice your shuriken-throwing more- it isn't very good," Azula says, and Mai sees red but keeps mum.

#10- Drink: Drink, Azula, drink from your own seductive, poisonous cup and see how clearly you can scheme.

#11- Midnight: The sky is a velvety black and no stars can be seen when Azula first kisses her, sneaking out in the dead of the night, touch rough and cloying.

#12- Temptation: Oh, how tempting it is to strip Mai of her outer shell and reach her very core, naked, exposed, but she swallows her desires and buries her temptation for now.

#13- View: Of course Azula doesn't _mean _to sneak into the bathhouse, hoping to catch a look at pale breasts and sharp curves, but she does all the same.

#14- Music: Mai dislikes sounding cliché, but oftentimes, the sound of Azula's sinisterly musical voice sends chills down her spine.

#15- Silk: Azula's sheets are silk, of course, smooth and cold- they do little to absorb the shameful fluid that drips onto them.

#16- Cover: No matter how much makeup Mai delicately applies, it can't completely cover the burns and bite marks that litter her skin.

#17- Promise: It's been part of Azula's earliest training to learn that there was no such thing as a true promise- everyone has their own loopholes and ulterior motives- and she isn't sure that Mai is any different than the rest.

#18- Dream: Mai dreams about a world where every kiss is not punctuated by a blow, every touch not met with a singe, and every meeting not about domination.

#19- Candle: Azula once challenges her to hold her hand over a candle longer than she- even when the pale flesh blisters and chars and she knows she can't win against a firebender, she keeps it there.

#20- Talent: Firebending is what Azula excels at and loses herself in the most- making Mai writhe beneath her is taking a firm second place.

#21- Silence: When Firelord Ozai announces Mai's unexpected move to Omashu, both girls know the real reason why, but for the sake of appearances, keep their mouths shut.

#22- Journey: The day she is set to leave, Azula gives her a parting kiss with only warm lips and tongue, and through narrow paths and rocky land, Mai sits in her palanquin, savoring the gentle touch.

#23- Fire: It is intoxicating to watch Azula firebending once more, kicking and punching and twirling, feeling the heat of the flames upon her skin and wanting them closer.

#24- Strength: _The nail that sticks up is the first hammered down; _there is only strength in obedience; staying quiet while Tom-Tom dangles from a ledge, staying quiet when she wants to cry out in pain and pleasure.

#25- Mask: Azula knows that both of them have carefully constructed masks- hers one of calculated cruelty, and Mai's of calculated indifference.

#26- Ice: "No," Mai says as coldly as she dares the next time Azula tries to touch her like she did back in the Fire Nation and Azula gives her icy laugh and plunges her fingers in deeper.

#27- Fall: She is falling into a dangerous trap- allowing herself to get so close to Mai, a girl she is slowly twisting around her finger- but somehow, this knowledge isn't as terrifying as it should be.

#28- Forgotten: Mai has to pity Ty Lee; no matter how cheerfully and hard she works, she will always be something forgotten to them once they close the bedroom door.

#29- Dance: Dancing was strictly forbidden in the Fire Nation after it was found that Fire Lord Azulon was terrible at it, but Azula and Mai have their own, of cold looks and sultry gazes, lies and hate.

#30- Body: Azula runs her hands all over Mai, reaching the swell of her breasts and the slight indent of her stomach, and she is not stopped when she tries to go lower.

#31- Sacred: Mai doesn't know if she should feel ashamed that her friend killed the Avatar- he is sacred, holy, dangerous- but Azula isn't, so she thinks nothing of it.

#32- Farewells: She kisses Zuko because it is expected of her to fall in love with him, and she knows he will never hurt her or scare her or overpower her, yet she still states a silent goodbye in her head.

#33- World: Azula has traveled all over the world with Mai, fighting and engaging in more... _pleasant _activities, and yet she doesn't tire of the girl's presence.

#34- Formal: Never do their strict Fire Nation formalities vanish, even when alone and vulnerable, because neither of them are willing to be the one that defrosts first.

#35- Fever: Zuko thrusts into her, gently, asking if it's too fast, but all Mai can think of are Azula's masterful fingers doing the same things, feverishly moving.

#36- Laugh: After the two of them are sated, Mai throws back her head and laughs bitterly (_if you could see me now, Azula, being treated like a person and not a toy)_

#37- Lies: Azula grew up shrouded in them, but even through her best efforts, Mai can still see through hers- _Ty Lee's braid needs untangling; really?_

#38- Forever: Nothing lasts forever, Azula, not Mother, not Father's love, and not Mai, either.

#39- Overwhelmed: "You need a vacation," Mai flatly says after finding her collapsed on the training grounds, and she doesn't protest when the knife thrower thinks of a clever alibi to tell the others.

#40- Whisper: "I guess you're happy now," Mai whispers as Zuko storms off, not wanting to look at Azula's triumphant face.

#41- Wait: She is so close, so close to stealing Mai from Zuko's jaws, and then they kiss once more, and she's forced to do a double take.

#42- Talk: "We need to talk," Mai starts one night, waking her up- how did she get into her room?- but she engulfs her lips and makes that impossible.

#43- Search: The two of them are searching for something impossible- to live different lives by day and night- but that doesn't stop them from trying.

#44- Hope: "Father's probably going to take me to the Earth Kingdom on the day of Sozin's Comet," Azula brags, and Mai loathes the hope in her voice.

#45- Eclipse: Everything has fallen apart right before Azula's eyes- Father knows about her lie, Zuko's run off to become even _more _of a traitor, Uncle Fatso's busted himself out of prison- and Mai is too busy weeping over her good-bye scroll to care.

#46- Gravity: Gravity is about to send Zuko crashing towards a boiling lake, Mai knows what she must do, and feels no regret.

#47- Highway: She moves like lightning to confront the traitor, her mind whirring like a palanquin on an express trip, wondering when she lost control.

#48- Lock: Her golden eyes blaze, her surroundings become a blur- she will lock Mai up inside the darkest, deepest cell there is and make her _pay._

#49- Unknown: Mai knows that she is hurtling into unknown territory as she raises her stiletto- Ty Lee saves her from having to do the unspeakable.

#50- Breathe: In, out- _I love Zuko more than I fear you- _she didn't want Mai to fear her, she wanted Mai to love her- Azula rests her head against the rail of the airship, and forces herself to breathe- Mai has left, chosen Zuko just like everyone else, and she is alone.

**A/N: Lyrics are from Opheliac- Emilie Autumn.**


End file.
